Arrest of FARC leader in Venezuela is not an isolated case

08.02.05 | The arrest of Rodrigo Granda in Venezuela has not been an isolated case, says attorney of Colombian guerrilla members. The Venezuelan government has proofs that the so-called "chancellor" of the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) Rodrigo Granda has not been the only guerrilla leader from the neighboring country to be captured irregularly in Venezuela and handed over to Colombian authorities, Colombian media reported on Monday.

The Colombian TV news program Noticias Uno said that while the regional Attorney General's Office in Cúcuta (north-eastern Colombia) was headed by a woman -who is currently wanted for her alleged ties with paramilitary troopers- hundreds of arrest warrants against rebel leaders who presumably lived in Venezuelan soil were issued, news agency APA reported.

This is why Caracas would have proofs that paramilitary troopers seem to have illegally taken at least 59 guerrillas out of Venezuela and handed over to Colombian authorities, who registered these detentions as if made in Cúcuta.

Eduardo Arias, attorney of one of the rebels "abducted" in Caracas, stated that his client, the alleged guerrilla member of the National Liberation Army (ELN) Gustavo Mendoza was detained in Ureńa, Táchira State (western Venezuela.)